Nature?based education on the rise in Alabama師法自然，靜待花開

何高倫

主題語境：生活 篇幅：350詞建議用時(shí)：7分鐘

“1 My favorite thing about hiking is that I get towork out my legs，” said Skylar， a six?year?old camper.“And I get to see the view！” Skylar is one of twentykids participating in the week?long Gross Out Camp，a summer program hosted at parks and outdoorspaces across Alabama.“ This is kids' natural habitat out here in the woods，” said VernaGates， who started Gross Out Camp 14 years ago.

2 As schools begin again across Alabama， most students are returning to days spent inindoor classrooms， but some will continue to learn and play outside， even while at school.It's part of a growing movement to teach kids in nature and help them connect with theirenvironment.

3 In recent years， at least three nature preschools， or forest schools， have openedacross Alabama. They operate almost entirely outside. “ It seems like a very foreignconcept， especially when we first described it to people，” said Sarah Crim， director of theWoodland Wonders Nature Preschool in Auburn.“ But it's great， and it works.”

4 In this forest school， students learn knowledge from every activity. The class mightdiscover a turtle walking along the forest floor at the Kreher Preserve ＆ Nature Center，where the school is located. That presents an opportunity for students to talk about the?animal's shape and color， and write about their discovery.

5 After starting Woodland Wonders in 2019， Crim said word spread quickly. Theschool has since added classes and programs for older kids， but they can't keep up with de?mand. It's a similar case at Little Mountain Forest School in Huntsvillem， where kids learnand play at Monte Sano State Park. Co?founder and co?director Beth Barry said that bothkids and parents love the natural space.

6 Fellow co?founder and co?director Sarah Callaway said the most common question isabout the weather. They spend a lot of time reviewing proper clothing， because students areoutside rain or shine.“ As a forest school parent， it can be a pain in the behind to have todeal with your muddy and wet kid，” Callaway said.“ But the kids love it. Those are some ofthe best days.”

Reading

Check

1. What is Gross Out Camp？

A. It's a summer program for outdoor enthusiasts in Alabama.

B. It's a summer program that teaches kids about the environment.

C. It's a summer program for students returning to school in Alabama.

D. It's a summer program for kids to participate in outdoor activities.

2. What is the main focus of forest schools in Alabama？

A. Teaching kids about the weather and proper clothing.

B. Providing opportunities for outdoor play and learning.

C. Offering programs to older kids in the natural space.

D. Advocating a connection with the environment.

3. What is the attitude of parents to Woodland Wonders？

A. Tolerant. B. Doubtful.

C. Supportive. D. Mild.

4. What does the underlined word“ They” refer to in paragraph 6？

A. Students. B. Parents.

C. Callaway and her workmates. D. Weather reporters.

Language

Study

Ⅰ. 日積月累

camper n. 露營者

view n. 景色

woods n. 樹林

entirely adv. 完全地

concept n. 概念

opportunity n. 機(jī)會(huì)

demand n. 需求

muddy adj. 泥濘的

work out 鍛煉

natural habitat 自然棲息地

forest schools 森林學(xué)校

Ⅱ. 語法填空

Callaway and Berry want 1. _______（expand） their school， but they are limited by re?sources and policy restrictions. For now， they can only offer half?day classes， which is diffi?cult for parents 2. _______need full time child care. Plus， cost 3. _______（be）always a barrier.

Some 4._______（environment） groups are also working to fill in this gap， offeringoutdoor?based learning opportunities 5. _______students at traditional schools. TheCahaba River Society， a Birmingham?based non?profit， 6._______（provide） day?longcanoe （獨(dú)木舟） trips and stream walks that explore the biodiversity of the Cahaba RiverWatershed. The group's 7._______（educate） director LaTanya Scott said its a rareexperience for some kids.“ We have a lot of 8. _______（student） that have never steppedfoot in any kind of body of water，” Scott said.“ I had a student that had never touched atree before.” Nature educators acknowledge （承認(rèn)） that 9. _______can be difficult toexplore activities like fishing or hiking in a traditional classroom， but they say there areeasy ways to introduce kids 10._______the outdoors in that setting. Teachers can usenatural objects， like rocks and leaves， to teach about math and language.